SFPE’s position on sustainability

The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) and the SFPE Foundation are making significant strides towards sustainability in the realm of fire protection engineering.

The SFPE recently expressed its commitment to ensuring a sustainable and fire-resilient built environment.

Earlier this year, the SFPE Board of Directors approved a position statement titled: “Engineering a Sustainable and Fire Resilient Built Environment”.

This statement recognises the importance of sustainability and fire resilience as key objectives for the built environment, and the necessity for every project to harmonise these aims.

SFPE’s efforts to promote sustainability

In an article titled “How SFPE is Developing Opportunities for the Fire Protection Engineering Profession to Influence & Elevate Sustainability in the Built Environment”, SFPE President, Jimmy Jönsson, FSFPE, and Interim Chief Executive Officer, Chris Jelenewicz, PE, FSFPE, outlined the ways fire protection engineers can work alongside architects, policymakers, researchers, and other professionals.

Their goal was to foster a constructive dialogue centred on the promotion of sustainable and fire-resilient built environments.

In a bid to incorporate these ideals into the daily activities of fire protection engineers, SFPE facilitated three live webinars, available now on-demand:

1. Sustainability and Fire Resilience: Setting the Scene
2. Fire Safety Perspectives Relative to the Three Pillars of Sustainability
3. Research Directions in Sustainability and Fire

Moreover, a partnership has been forged between SFPE and Fire-Safe Sustainable Built Environment (FRISSBE) to organise an engineering solutions symposium.

Scheduled for November 29-30, 2023, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, this symposium aims to explore concepts, tools, and strategies conducive to fire-safe buildings.

Emphasis will be placed on the significance of fire safety in sustainable design and education.

For more details or to sign up for the SFPE Engineering Solutions Symposium for Fire Safety and Sustainable Building Design, visit here.

SFPE Foundation’s focus on sustainability

Placing sustainability at its core, the SFPE Foundation adopted a fresh vision statement in December 2022.

This focuses on engineering a world that is resilient, sustainable, and fire-safe for everyone.

The SFPE Foundation recently released a report, “Risk and Performance Assessment Framework for a Sustainable and Fire Resilient Building Environment (SAFR-BE)”, to pave the way for future tools assessing sustainable and fire-resilient buildings.

Authored by Brian Meacham, Håkan Frantzich, Margaret McNamee, and Erik Kimblad, the report’s findings are available for on-demand viewing in a dedicated webinar.

Grand Challenges Initiative’s role

The SFPE Foundation’s Grand Challenges Initiative (GCI) unveiled a white paper on sustainability and resilience titled “Grand Challenges in Resilience & Sustainability:

A 10-Year Plan for Strategic Cooperation in Research and Education to Advance Fire Engineering”.

Accessible for download here, the paper was also discussed during the 2023 Virtual GCI Summit, with a recording now available for on-demand viewing. With the action plan set in motion, the GCI welcomes new partner organisations to collaborate.

For a deeper dive into the initiatives by SFPE and the SFPE Foundation centred on sustainability objectives, explore sfpe.org and sfpe.org/foundation.

IFSJ Comment

The concerted efforts of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) and its Foundation in advancing sustainability objectives is noteworthy.

By integrating sustainable practices into fire protection engineering, they are not only elevating the standards of the profession but also setting an example for other industries to follow.

Their emphasis on fostering dialogue, promoting research, and forming collaborations demonstrates a holistic approach.

The advancements and initiatives undertaken by SFPE will likely shape the future direction of fire protection engineering, making built environments safer and more sustainable for all.